On the Darkest Nights
by SK Dark Dragon
Summary: Even on the darkest of nights, a star can be seen in the distance. Varon, Mai, Amelda, and Raphael reflect on their lives after their experiences in Doma. (Spoiler Warnings)


**On the Darkest Nights**

**Notes: **Hello! I'm writing a YuGiOh themed fic for a "Biker," or Varon, Amelda, and Raphael fan group that I belong to. I'm using the Japanese version names, so please respect that. I don't own YuGiOh or any of the characters. Spoiler warnings issued to the fic, as this is set after the Doma Arc. (Although, I never saw the last episode of the arc, so I can only go by what I've read through summaries on that issue.)

The action in this story is on a low-scale, as it is more of reflection of the characters. It's a little odd, but oh well! Enjoy, and leave a polite review when you're finished.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky that evening, the massive orange and red ball starting to sink below tops of the hills in the distance. It was that kind of evening where the noises are low and in the distance, and everywhere around you seems to be quiet, and calm.

_Content._

It is on those kinds of evenings when one finds themselves going home to their families, spending time outdoors, watching the setting sun around a picnic table with loved ones close by.

"_At least, that's how it's supposed to be," _A young man thought to himself, staring out at the setting sun with his blue eyes, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

The young man was seated on the steps of a mountain-house, which hadn't been rented out yet at this time of year. The breze was cool, and the house was located miles away from any other homes or the closest town.

Varon had wandered there that afternoon, having driven for days without reaching any destination, and finally stumbling across some place he could spend the evening, other than the road.

_Without a destination._

"Guess I don't really even have a destination, anymore," The man thought to himself, narrowing his eyes, brushing a lock of his brown hair out of his eyes. "Ever since Dartz's plans to destroy the world were stopped, I haven't had a destination."

Several days earlier, Varon had woken up in a place he didn't know, a Harpie Lady card resting on the blankets. No one else had been there, however.

Varon clenched a fist, his thoughts drifting back to that blonde-haired woman.

"Mai," he murmured, gazing out into the distance, at the highways on the mountains. "Where are you now?"

He smiled to himself, thinking that perhaps she'd gone off with Jounouchi, or maybe to become an even stronger dueler. Or had she simply just run away, as well? Without a destination?

_Lost._

"_Maybe I'll never know_," he thought to himself, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out the shiny Duel Monsters card, and staring down at the artwork.

After a few moments, the man tucked the card back into his pocket and sighed, shifting his weight around on the wooden steps uncomfortably; restlessly. It was a heavy feeling, unlike victory or defeat. An unsettling feeling of uncertainty.

"What now?" he mused with a sigh.

* * *

Several hundred miles away, a young woman with long, blonde hair was seated at a shiny, black table in an outside café, alone. She wore a black jacket overtop her purple shirt, and her hands clad in black gloves as she reached for a glass of wine on the table.

After taking a sip, the woman sighed, her purple eyes sad and discontented. It had been several days since she'd run off, after getting her soul back. She'd made sure (from a distance) that Jounouchi had been all right, and she'd asked the caretaker of the inn that Varon had been staying at to give him the card. Then, she'd left.

"_I'm so confused," _Mai thought to herself, running a black gloved-finger around the rim of the wine glass, the setting sun illuminating the clear drink inside. "_I don't know what I want anymore. I thought I wanted to win…but winning against Jounouchi only made my longing worse. Do I want to win…or am I in love?"_

Pursing her lips in irritation, she took another sip.

"And even if that were the case," she murmured to herself, seeing that there was no one else out on the café patio to overhear her. "Who is it I'm in love _with_?"

Varon had been madly in love with her, and had never hesitated to tell her this. He'd gone so far as to risk his own life to save her soul, although Mai had never returned the affection. Jounouchi, on the other hand, she'd always admired, though secretly. Outwardly, she would tease him. Jounouchi was determined, yet goofy.

_But do I want either of them?_

Sighing, the woman shoved back her chair, the metal legs squealing as they rubbed against the cement.

"What do I want?" Mai sighed, staring up at the pale blue sky.

* * *

The first few stars had started to come out as the sun continued to sink behind the hills. Out in a grassy field, surrounded by forest on every side, a young man sat in the center, his knees pulled up toward his chest as he wrapped he leaned back and stared up at the sky.

The man's black coat draped over the grass, making a sort of picnic blanket of some sort, and his shiny motorcycle was parked a few feet away on the grass. His burgundy hair pressed against his neck as he stared up at the stars above, his gray eyes sad and lonely.

"_Niisan_!"

Amelda could still hear his little brother's voice in his mind, as clear as if the boy were speaking to him right then. A small smile formed on the troubled young man's face as the stars twinkled above.

"_Miruko!"_

_"Niisan, I'll be with you always."_

Amelda reached his hand up and placed on his lavender shirt, just over his heart, his smile fading. Seeing his little brother for just that brief moment had filled him with such joy. To hear his voice, and see his innocent smile once more…

"_It was as if everything were all right again," _Amelda thought to himself. "_Before that war…before the Kaiba Corporation army had attacked our town. Before I lost you, Miruko."_

Amelda sighed, recalling the events of the past few days. He'd been so content on destroying Seto Kaiba for what his company had done to him, he'd become blinded by the desire.

"_Of course…making others suffer, in the end, does not bring Miruko back to life," _Amelda thought to himself, hugging his knees to his chest, watching the stars above twinkle in the velvet sky.

In the end, he was left with nothing. In the end, it didn't really matter whose fault it was. The fact was, that Miruko would never come back to life. Amelda closed his gray eyes and sighed.

"_What is there left to live for, then?" _

* * *

The lights in the city had come on, shining brightly down on the darkening streets, illuminating the faces of strangers as they walked past each other down the sidewalks. A tall, shadowed man paused, looking out at the dark streets lined with strange night-clubs and bars, dim lights coming from the windows, neon signs decorating them, as if luring the people of the city to come in and indulge in their meaningless pleasures.

Raphael narrowed his eyes darkly and continued on down the sidewalks, aimlessly walking as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his long, dark coat.

"_After all this time, to realize everything I'd been fighting for wasn't real," _The blonde-haired man thought to himself bitterly. "_And the person I'd respected turned out to be a hypocrite."_

Raphael sighed, recalling how Dartz, his formerly respected leader, had turned out to have been the cause of all of his misery. Dartz had caused the bizarre whirlpool in the ocean that fateful evening so many years ago, resulting in the boat crash that had killed his entire family.

"_Except…me."_

Sometimes it was hard to keep going, knowing that everyone else in his family had already gone to their rest. Sometimes it seems like the easiest thing to do was to just escape, but Raphael knew that wasn't the answer. He would keep living…even if he had no place.

"_That's why I went with Dartz-sama in the first place," _Raphael thought to himself, feeling a weight of depression pushing down on his shoulders. "_He offered me a way to help fix what had happened."_

Sighing, the man slowed to a stop at a curb as he waited for the walk signal to change.

"_But in the end, the past is the past," _he reminded himself. "_It can't be changed or fixed."_

He stared down at the ground, recalling how he'd seen his parents, and his two younger siblings for a brief moment before his soul had returned to his body several days earlier. It had made him so happy to see them again, and for Sonia and Julian to promise to stay with him.

_But even so…living is hard when you can't see the ones you love_.

* * *

Varon sighed, staring up at the sky, watching the stars, picking out constellations in his mind. It had grown cold out ever since the sun had set, but he didn't seem to mind, even as the cool night air brushed against his bare arms.

"So…where now?" he mused again, trying to reason with himself.

He had never belonged anywhere. He'd never had a family or close friends to return to. He doubted Mai or anyone else would be waiting for him. And even if they were, what were the chances that they'd ever meet again?

_What was there to live for?_

Varon's blue eyes sparkled suddenly as a shooting star shot across the sky, bright white and yellow as it fell, illuminating the night sky. The brown-haired boy followed the star with his eyes until it vanished from site.

A few minutes went by, and then the young man smiled slightly.

"I guess you never know what will happen," he mused aloud, standing up and rubbing his legs, which had grown soar during the time he'd spent sitting on the wooden steps, staring into the distance. "Maybe…another fluke like my meeting with Dartz will happen."

Grinning, the young man shoved his hands into his pockets, giving the sky a last glance before turning and walking toward his bike.

"_Yeah…you never know what life will give you next," _he added to himself, unhooking his helmet and placing it on his head. "_And maybe…that's a good thing."_

With that, the brown-haired young man started up the engine of his bike and started off into the distance.

_Into the unknown distance._

* * *

Mai collected her purse and left a few bills on the table to pay the tip as the sky darkened overhead.

"_Another empty night," _she thought to herself, her eyes saddened, although she couldn't really tell whether it was true sadness, or just an emptiness inside of her.

"_I'm missing something," _Mai thought to herself as she walked down the stairs of the café and toward her blue convertible. "_But what that is…I just can't figure out. Maybe I'll find it out…and maybe I won't."_

Closing the door to her car with a snap, Mai leaned back in the front seat and sighed, gazing up at the sky just as a shooting star shot by. Her violet eyes widened as she followed its sparkling trail until it disappeared from sight.

Smiling, Mai put her slender arms behind her head, leaning back.

"_Guess there's nothing else I can do, after all," _she reasoned with herself. "_Except keep going."_

* * *

Amelda pulled his knees closer to his chest, shivering slightly as a chilly breeze blew by around him, rustling the cattails in the grassy field. Night had fallen in an instant, it seemed, although it had been several hours since he'd sat down in the field and began staring up at the stars.

His heart felt heavy with loneliness; a loneliness he didn't know how to quench.

"_I'll be with you always, niisan!"_

"Always," Amelda repeated aloud, his gray eyes glittering as they reflected the stars above. "Then I don't want to do anything that would make you sad. I'll keep living…no matter how hard that is, and live a good life…for both of us."

And Amelda was sure he heard the voice of his little brother again, with his sweet and innocent tone, as a shooting star shot across the sky above, leaving a glittering trail behind it.

"_Always, niisan!"_

The burgundy-haired man smiled softly.

* * *

Raphael hesitated even though the traffic signal had changed, and several others behind him were shoving past him to cross the street. The blonde-haired man, however, had his gaze fixated on the sky above, where a star was falling from the sky.

"_I haven't seen a shooting star in ages," _The man thought to himself, watching it as it flew across the sky. "_They're so pretty, though. Much prettier than this world of pseudo smiles and lights."_

Raphael paused, thinking back to his brief encounter with his younger siblings. Even in the midst of the darkest times, he'd been surprised. Even when all hope had been lost, he had been granted to see his siblings for a moment, however brief it had been.

Now, even in the midst of a dark night filled with uneasiness, a beautiful shooting star had appeared. Raphael smiled to himself, continuing across the street as the signal started to flicker, indicating that it would be changing soon.

"_Even on the darkest nights, some star can always be seen," _The man thought to himself. "_I guess…that can be a lesson, too."_

And as the star continued falling across the sky, where it was visible for hundreds of miles around, four souls were restored at last.

* * *

**The End**

Hm…well I liked it. It's a little different, and probably a bit on the ambiguous side, but oh well. Please leave a review and let me know what _you _thought of it. I'm already looking into my next fanfiction project, so expect to see more frequent posts by me. Thank you for reading!


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